


down in my soul

by MagusLibera



Series: fics I wrote in quarantine as I chilled [7]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Drunken Confessions, F/M, I will eventually continue this, In Vino Veritas, Post-Episode: s02e13 Heir to the Demon, Quarantine and Chill Fic Drive (Arrow TV 2012), Season/Series 02, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Truth or Dare, Truth or Dare in Lockdown, lockdown - Freeform, outbreak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23461471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagusLibera/pseuds/MagusLibera
Summary: Oliver and Felicity are soulmates. Oliver does not know.When a disease deadly to the marked becomes a pandemic, Starling goes into lockdown, forcing Team Arrow to quarantine in the Foundry. There is alcohol and somebody says something that they did not mean to.Set just after 213 except Oliver and Sara have not slept together.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: fics I wrote in quarantine as I chilled [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672840
Comments: 79
Kudos: 234
Collections: Quarantine and Chill Fic Drive 2020





	down in my soul

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WinterJoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterJoy/gifts).



> Hi! Here's another Q&C fic! This one is for Joy because she basically finished her degree yesterday and loves Soulmates and deserves everything <3
> 
> I'm really excited about this one, it was one of the first things I put together in my head when I saw the prompt cards and I've wanted to write a soulmate AU for ages now!
> 
> The title is from Promise Her The Moon by Mr. Big. It felt appropriate.
> 
> TW: There is an epidemic in this fic that causes the lockdown. It is not the same as the current pandemic, but I still want to make everybody aware of this. Stay safe.

Felicity is drunk.

Felicity is very, _very_ drunk.

She is, perhaps, drunker than she has ever been before. Though she is still self-aware enough to know how drunk she is, so that is, at least, something.

It is all Sara’s fault. Well, Sara and the lockdown. The combination of the two has led to the unhealthy mix of Russian vodka and expensive wine that is currently swirling in Felicity’s stomach but she also knows that she is partly to blame. She is, after all, the one who agreed to play along. She is the one who chose to drink so much. She is the lightweight in this group.

*************************

**_Twelve Hours Earlier_ **

A study has just found that this bacterium is not just infecting soulmates. It is also capable of surviving within a non-soulmate host without causing any symptoms, making it highly infectious and far more dangerous than initially realised. In the light of this new information, the president is asking that everybody attempt to stay inside as much as possible. It may only be dangerous to the ten percent of the population who are marked, but the highly infectious and deadly nature of this disease could prove catastrophic. Our source in the White House indicates that the president is expected to make a full statement on this tonight.

_Felicity turns off the news with a sigh. The QC offices are already shutting down for the foreseeable future, everybody being sent to do what work they can from home. The soulmate population has already suffered a huge blow, though the president has launched a rapid response to the situation in order to minimise casualties. Felicity thoroughly approves, feeling pretty pleased that she voted for her in the first place._

_As much as she wishes that she could listen to the advice that the president is giving, she knows that as long as Oliver is still planning to go out with the team at night, she will be spending her evenings in the Glades too. Since Sara’s return, things have become a little safer for Oliver, Diggle and Roy. The assassin has a level of skill that rivals even Oliver’s and her spatial awareness is adding to Oliver’s to ensure that they can never be surprised by an attacker. However, as useful as that may be, the team still needs somebody behind the screen to keep their missions running smoothly._

_The president may have asked everybody to keep to themselves, but to the criminals of this city, that is like an invitation. Abandoned stores line the street, sitting like shining beacons to thieves. The last few weeks have become busier and busier for Team Arrow as more and more businesses have shut down. That is why they are still risking going out there. All of them have to keep helping their city, they have to protect what little these people will have left when this is all over and there is no escaping that. They are being clever about it. With the office closed, the only people they are interacting with are one another, Moira, Thea and Lyla and Felicity knows that Roy and Oliver have been avoiding Oliver’s family at all costs, and that Lyla is out and about because for her job anyway._

_Nevertheless, Felicity worries about her team. If businesses are shutting down, then the situation must be extreme and yet they are still going out. Every single member of Team Arrow is marked and therefore at risk. Roy shares a red archery bow with Oliver’s sister, Thea (much to Oliver’s chagrin). Sara has a mark but will not tell anybody whether she shares that mark with her ex from the League, Nyssa, or not. Diggle, as it turns out, shares a mark with his ex-wife, Lyla, which is evidence of the fact that even soulmates have to work hard to maintain their relationship._

_And Oliver… Oliver also bears a mark. It is a green arrow, simple but elegant, that crosses over his upper abdomen, pointing at his heart. But the shaft is composed not of a solid line but of little ones and zeros, forming six binary bits, all of which have red ones rather than green._

01000001 01001100 01010111 01000001 01011001 01010011

 _Felicity knows exactly what the code means. She has since she was four years old and first learnt what soulmates are from her mother. She has since she asked her father to teach her binary that very day. It means_ Always _._

_According to Donna Smoak, this means that Felicity is fated to have an all-encompassing, everlasting love that will last for eternity. Felicity liked that, when she was little. But when her father abandoned them when she was seven, she cast aside such silly dreams in favour of reality._ Always _could mean anything, it could be referring to anything. There did not seem to be any point in getting her hopes up just because her mother had. Donna and Noah may not have been soulmates, but they are living proof that love does not last forever._

_Felicity knows what the_ Always _means now. She has had almost a year to come to terms with it and is finally at peace. She is even calm enough to have noticed the increasing sexual tension between Oliver and Sara following Sara’s second return and she is not a quivering wreck over it as she had been when Oliver had been with McKenna, or when he had briefly rekindled his relationship with Laurel before the Undertaking. No, she knows her role in Oliver Queen’s life now and she knows what form their_ Always _will take and she is completely at peace with that._

_She is also well aware that the only reason the team are so calm about her being out and about and interacting with them in the bunker is because none of them think she is marked. Whether it is driven by their hidden bond or not, Oliver is exceptionally protective of Felicity. It is one of the reasons that she is so fine with the way that their relationship has developed, because she knows that he cares for her deeply in his own way. But if he knew that she is also at risk of being hurt by the disease, if he knew that the reason for that is because she is the person he is fated to be the closest to, he would lock her in her townhouse and stand guard at the door until it was safe for her to leave again. Regardless of whether that was what she wanted or not._

_But Team Arrow lives under the assumption that Felicity is unmarked, so she is still able to join her teammates in the foundry so that they can continue to keep the Glades safe, no matter what._

*************************

“Let’s play Truth or Dare!” a slightly tipsy Sara squeals, her head leaping from its pillow on Felicity’s shoulder in her excitement. It is painfully obvious just how much more drunk Felicity is than her teammates.

But even nearly incoherent in her intoxication, she is still smarter than her friends and has a perfect explanation for that. Oliver has only had a few shots, and he must have drank Russian vodka like water whilst he was away anyway, so has built up a tolerance to it. Felicity does not know how or why, but she knows that must be true. She has some well-founded suspicions that Oliver spent a good chunk of those five years in Russia itself. How else could he have gained his solid connections to the Bratva? Where else did that star on his chest come from?

John is so physically massive that it would take several gallons of the strongest alcohol to affect him. He has had more shots than Sara, and yet he is still just as wise and stoic as he normally is, the only sign of his drunkenness being the slightly freer smiles that he is gracing the room with.

Sara was a party girl. She must have developed the ability to drink like a pro during her pre island years. And perhaps during them too, but Felicity has far less ideas as to how Sara’s time away went than she does about Oliver’s. Either way, Sara has a far better tolerance than Felicity, though she is still the second drunkest in the room.

The least drunk is Roy, who is sat by Felicity’s other side, protectively keeping an eye on her and her drunkenness to make sure that she is safe. He has not had a drop of alcohol. Not by choice, when he had reached for the bottle of vodka, Oliver had snatched it back. Roy had protested, reminding them all that he had turned twenty-two the year before so is more than old enough to legally drink, but Oliver had none of it. Roy is currently under the influence of mirakuru. Oliver is not willing to risk them all being locked up with a drunken, mentally imbalanced super soldier.

*************************

**_Seven Hours Earlier_ **

_“You promise me that you’ll all be safe, right?” Felicity asks for the thousandth time, earning herself an exasperated look from Roy._

_Oliver levels her with one of those stares, the one that convinced her to trust in him when he brought her a bullet ridden laptop, before she knew who he is in his spare time and before she saw his mark. The one that still holds her captive, even after a year and a half of knowing one another, and that she cannot help but believe in, “Felicity. I promise that we will stay safe. Distance combat wherever possible, and we all have the sanitiser that you gave us.”_

_She gulps in a deep breath, still scared but convinced enough to let them go, and nods. They all file out with reassuring glances at her. Oliver is last, and he surprises her by placing his hand in its special place on her shoulder and squeezing, murmuring “Promise.” To her one last time before letting his hand fall down her arm as he follows the team. The pressure of his hand lingers, the feeling eliciting a thousand memories of his hand in that place. He has not touched her in several weeks. Not since Sara came back, not since all of this chaos with the bacterium began. He has been too busy exchanging heated looks with Sara like the two of them are already alone and naked and not in a room with the rest of their team. At this point, Felicity almost wishes that the two of them would just get on with it so that they can keep their sexual tension out of her Foundry._

_It does not cross her mind that she has been standing immobile, staring longingly at the door without realising until she hears Oliver’s voice coming through the comms._

_“Felicity? What’s happening out here?”_

_It jolts her back into the room, she scrambles herself back into her chair and starts searching. “Um… what does it look like out there?” she asks, buying time, “Is there much activity?”_

_“There’s nobody on the streets.” Sara informs her, “Most people have stayed in but I guarantee that there are plenty of people who are out and taking advantage.”_

_“Okay…” her computer pings, “I’ve got a hit! A robbery at Tech Village.”_

_“We’re en route.” Diggle says._

_The night continues, the team managing to keep their distance from the various criminals they encounter and successfully stopping several criminals. Just before they are set to head in, a riot breaks loose. There are many in the world who hate the marked. It mostly stems from jealousy and prejudice but they are out there and they are extremely unhappy that they are being forced to stay inside to avoid spreading an illness that will only affect those they hate. It infuriates every member of Team Arrow._

_A large group of these people has amassed, storming the streets in protest ahead of the president’s address. “Be careful!” Felicity reminds her team, wanting to ask them to leave the riot to the police, who have put all of their marked members on paid leave and left only the unmarked to work. But she knows that would be futile, she knows just how stubborn her team are and that there is no way that they will sit back and let them destroy marked businesses and threaten the lives of the fifty thousand people who live in their city and are vulnerable to this disease._

_Everything, of course, goes wrong. There are too many of them and before the team can get them all under control, they are surrounded. The mob swarms them, forcing them to engage in hand to hand combat to defend themselves and then Roy loses it, cutting through the rioters with an unparalleled violence. He has not been handling the situation well, constantly in a state of anxiety over the threat to Thea and these people seem to have sent him over the edge. Before they know it, the mob is fleeing, many of them lying on the ground in a state of what Felicity hopes in unconsciousness as both Oliver and Diggle yank on Roy’s arms in an attempt to get him under control and Sara brandishes a knife to his throat._

_Roy calms just enough to let them get him back to the Foundry, Felicity’s voice in his ear reminding him of all the reasons that he has to stop, to get his head back, reminding him that Thea is waiting. As soon as they get back to the Foundry, once Felicity has drenched them all with antibacterial spray, Roy hits the mats, working out his fury with a hammer on the huge tyre. The others let him be, winding down from the night on their own._

*************************

Oliver is the first to protest to the game of truth or dare. “It’s a stupid game.” He says, his signature broody look on his face.

“No!” Sara protests, “It’s fun, we should play!”

Roy smirks, looking between Oliver and Sara and Felicity as he says, “I think we should do it.” He has cheered up vastly in the hours since he pummelled a hole into the tyre and then called Thea to check that she is safe and locked down in the Queen Mansion and is taking far too much pleasure in watching Felicity’s not-so-slow descent into drunken filter-less embarrassment.

There are big warning alarms going off in Felicity’s brain, telling her that playing a game of truths is not a good idea with her as drunk as she is right now, but the uninhibited part of her mind, the part that is currently in control, has different ideas, “Yessss!” she slurs, “’S a good game. Played lotsss at MIT.”

“I did not expect you to say that.” Sara looks at Felicity, impressed, “Felicity Smoak, were you a party girl in college?”

Felicity puts her finger to her lips and messily shushes the other woman, “That’sa question for th’game.”

Sara smirks, “Okay then, I’ll go first.”

“No.” Oliver interrupts before Sara can ask anybody a question, “You’re not going first in anything, because we’re not playing.”

“Ollie!”

“Dig, tell them we’re not playing.” Oliver says to the only other person who has not agreed to play.

“I think we should play.” Diggle leans back, amused at the looks of shock and annoyance that cross Oliver’s face.

“What? How can you possible think that-”

“Please, Oliver.” Felicity looks at him, eyes wide as she practically bounces in place where she is sat on the mat, “I want to play.”

He sighs, almost visibly deflating as he concedes, “Fine.”

*************************

**_Three Hours Earlier_ **

_Roy calms down just enough to go and change into his regular red hoodie rather than his leather one. He is still very huffy though. Everybody is cooling down, coming to the end of their nightly routines. Oliver has finally put a shirt on, Sara is doing her last few stretches, Diggle is putting his newly cleaned gun away and Felicity has the news on, catching up on the president’s address that she missed due to the riot. She is ready to leave but waiting for Diggle to give her a lift. It is a rule that he and Oliver put in place early into her collaboration with them. Both men had been uncomfortable with the idea of a relatively untrained member of Team Arrow being out and vulnerable so late at night. They have a lot of enemies, which is the only reason that Felicity plays along._

_Well, that and because she knows that Oliver will not be able to rest if he does not know for sure that she is home safe. She can never tell what, of the things that are between them, are just Oliver being Oliver, what is him caring for her specifically and what parts are a result of their ever strengthening bond. What she does know is that Oliver has a lot of anxiety and PTSD from his trauma over the last six and a half years, so she refuses to be the one who makes those things any worse for him._

To recap what the president has said: you must stay inside. _Says the news anchor,_ The United States is officially in a country wide lockdown as the possibility of unmarked people being affected has been suggested by current studies. This is an official epidemic and the only way for us to minimise its effects is for everybody – marked and unmarked – to stay inside. _Felicity blinks, shocked. She knew it was serious, she knew this was coming, but it is still a surprise. The anchor starts the list the conditions in which people can leave their homes, which are limited and then she regains Felicity’s attention,_ As of ten pm tonight, police will be patrolling every settlement with the authority to punish those not following these regulations, and many cities across the States will be gaining a military presence to maintain order.

_It is one in the morning. They are officially in a lockdown._

*************************

“Okay, me first!” Sara squeals, excited and able to show it in her tipsy state, she pretends to think for a moment, “Hmm… Felicity! Truth or dare?”

Felicity knew this was coming, she’s ready, “Truth.” She says as confidently as a drunk woman can. Which, as it turns out, is very confidently.

“What were you like in college?”

Felicity smirks, ready to blow some tiny minds, “I ‘as goth.”

The looks on their faces are priceless. Diggle is gobsmacked, his jaw has literally fallen. Roy’s eyebrows have raised so high that they are starting to disappear into his hairline. Sara is thrilled, almost jumping for joy and Oliver… Oliver looks like his brain may have actually exploded.

“You were a goth? No way!” Sara says, “Do you have a photo?”

“Thas’sa n’uther question.” She sing songs, “My turn!” she turns to Diggle, ignoring how everybody else in the room is clearly not ready to move on from her truth, “Diggle! Truth or dare?”

Diggle sighs, clearly having hoped for her to go for somebody else. Felicity does not know who. As far as she is concerned Diggle is the one with the most secretive personal life but also the most likely to choose truth. She knows that Sara will only go for dare, Roy is an open book and Oliver does not have a personal life. Diggle, however, Diggle has marriage that then ended and now there is a possible rekindling of that relationship. Felicity wants the details.

“Truth.” Diggle answers, much to her delight.

“You ‘n’ Lyla back together?”

“Yes.” Diggle swiftly moves them along, giving Felicity a taste of what it was like when she denied them information on her goth phase, “Oliver, truth or dare?” Oliver refuses to answer, glaring broodily at Diggle in that way that he has perfected, “Okay, I’ll choose for you. You’re going to tell a truth.” Oliver opens his mouth but Diggle talks before he can, “Why do you refuse to look for your soulmate? Don’t you think they have a right to at least know who you are too?”

The atmosphere sobers significantly.

Oliver simmers with fury.

*************************

**_Two Hours Earlier_ **

_Military presence. In cities. Felicity pulls out her phone, searching for the information on exactly which cities. LA, New York, Washington DC… all of the usual ones, and there, down the list with the other ‘S’s, is Starling City._

_“Oliver.” She calls, unable to keep the worry from her voice, “Oliver, Diggle, come here.” She shows them the screen, pulling up footage of Starling City Hall where the army is already stationed. Oliver swears._

_“Are they in the Glades?” he asks. Felicity checks and, sure enough, there is already a huge number of officers and soldiers roaming every major street. Including the one just outside Verdant. Oliver swears again, “They can’t know that we were all here so late. They’re bound to check on why, they’ll want to know why we didn’t know this was happening, they’ll search Verdant. We need to see if there is any way for us to get out without being noticed.”_

_He immediately bursts into action, at his best when a situation is urgent, when he has a mission. Sara and Diggle follow suit, instructing Roy to stay with Felicity as they need stealth not strength. After half an hour, the three of them return, shaking their heads._

_“Even Ollie and I would be lucky to get out from all of that without being spotted. Never mind you guys and certainly not with Felicity to consider.”_

_Felicity feels a stab of guilt through her heart, “If you guys can get out, you should. I’ll be okay here. You don’t need to worry about me.”_

_“Felicity we are not leaving you alone here.” Oliver growls, adamant._

_“And besides, didn’t you listen? I said even Ollie and I would struggle, it’s not worth it. I’m afraid we’re trapped here for the foreseeable future.” Sara confirms. She then grins, looking around at her four quarantine companions, “This is going to be fun.”_

*************************

“No.” Is Oliver’s only response.

“You have to answer.” Diggle presses.

“No, I don’t.” Oliver looks furious as he pushes up off the mats, going to leave.

“Ollie, don’t be like that!” Sara says, “Come back. Since you didn’t technically pick, we’ll let you do a dare instead. Just play the game.”

“Please, Oliver!” Felicity and Roy echo. He looks around, torn but sits back down, “Fine. I’ll stay but only if we skip my turn.”

“Ugh, fine.” Sara rolls her eyes, “You’re such a sour puss. Go on then, ask somebody.”

Oliver narrows his eyes, “You.”

Sara perks up, “Dare.”

Oliver scowls, “Do… a hundred pull ups.”

“That’s so unoriginal!” Roy laughs, “You’re not great at this game, are you Oliver?” he asks. Oliver glares.

Sara starts her pull ups, “Okay.” She says between each rep, “Whilst I’m doing this, Roy: truth or dare?”

Roy thinks on it for a moment, “Truth.”

“Okay, why haven’t you and Thea moved in together yet?”

Roy chokes, spluttering and looking between Sara and Oliver in fear, “We’re… too young?” It is more of a question than an answer. Oliver seems to approve nonetheless.

“You’re scared.” Felicity giggles, “Why, ya both ‘ove each others?”

“I don’t…” he is lost for words for a beat before realisation dawns, “I don’t have to answer that.” A vengeful look crosses his eyes, “Felicity, truth or dare?”

A burst of confidence overcomes Felicity, “Dare.”

“Do something that you have always wanted to try but have always been too scared to do.” There is an excitement in his eyes that Felicity does not like.

Felicity frowns, trying to break apart that sentence with her addled mind. The first thing that crosses her mind is, of course, _Oliver_. Instead of the normal embarrassed blush that such a thought would elicit, she begins to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Roy asks.

The blush comes and Felicity quickly stands so as to hide it. The speed of her standing makes her sway, nearly toppling over before she feels Sara’s hands steadying her, “Tha’k’oo.” She says as she trips her way over to the salmon ladder. “Imma try the sa’mon ladder!” she declares.

She has to jump a little to get her hands around the bar, but successfully grasps it and finds herself swaying as she dangles. She looks up at the bar between her hands, brow furrowed like she is solving a complex equation as she tries to figure it out.

“I can’t. Somebody help me!” she drops to the floor, falling all the way down to her bum as she loses her balance.

Nobody else has a chance to offer their help because Oliver is up and at her side in a flash, helping her off the ground. He places her before the salmon ladder, facing him as he reaches up without even extending himself and grabs the bar, his hands completely engulfing it where her little ones had barely been able to curve over the top.

“Okay, so.” He looks straight into her eyes, captivating her, “This is just a chin up. Everybody knows a chin up. It’s a chin up,” he does a chin up, “With a flourish,” he does another one, “at the end.” He swings himself up onto the next bar, making it look so easy.

“Ol’ver.” She complains, “I can’t do a chin up.” His hands are around her waist. _His hands are around her waist_ and then he is lifting her up without even _trying_ and she is… she is on the salmon ladder. A foot off the ground.

“You ready?”

“Sure.” She portrays false bravado well, she thinks.

“Three, two, one.” Her arms strain, she tries to pull herself up and she feels herself start to move but it _burns_.

“No! Nope!” she panics, “Help! Help.” Oliver’s hands encircle her waist again, taking her weight from the bar to his arms as he brings her down. _Really_ close to his body. Is her face on fire?

Felicity shakes her head, turning back to the others who have not said a word during the entire dare, and who seem to be watching with utter fascination, “Well,” she says as brightly and flippantly as possible, “I tried! Sara, what’ll ‘t be?”

“Dare.” Sara surprises nobody.

“Kiss somebody!” Felicity says, trying to detract from the attention on her. It fails, Sara gets a sultry smirk as she turns to Felicity and plants an open mouthed kiss right on Felicity’s lips. Felicity giggles again, feeling very giggling for reasons that probably begin with the alcohol and end with the fact that the last minute has seen her body pressed against Oliver’s and her mouth pressed against Sara’s. “You’re a good kisser.” She informs Sara, completely missing Oliver’s glower. Nobody else misses it.

“Okay I’m sending this back to you, Miss Smoak.” Sara winks.

“Truth.”

“Do you have a mark?”

“Sara!” Oliver hisses.

None of them have ever asked her if she is marked. It is often considered as an impolite thing to ask, and some people get offended easily. The only reason that Felicity knows that the others are marked is because they are constantly in various states of undress right in front of her. She has never needed to undress herself in front of the team, no matter how much she would have liked to undress for at least _one_ of them, but she does wear a lot of open clothes that show most of the common areas of the skin for a mark to lie, which is part of why Oliver and Diggle assumed early on that she is not marked and why Roy adopted that assumption quickly after joining the team.

Sara has not been around for long enough to know this, and is clearly past the stage of sobriety where politeness is an issue, so looks at Oliver like he is crazy for reacting to her question in that way.

Under normal circumstances, Felicity would carefully consider how to answer such a question. There is a big reason sat right across from her as to why she would _not_ mention her mark, but all of her logic and filters and well thought out reasoning for that flew out of her brain about two shots ago and she finds herself answering.

“Yes.” Three pairs of eyes look at her in shock. “I got a mark.”

“Felicity… you’re marked?” Diggle asked, “Why did you never tell me?” of all of them, Diggle is the only one who could ask this question. During Oliver’s summer back on Lian Yu, the two of them grew very close, like siblings. In most cases he would have been right to think that she was unmarked after everything.

“I don’t talk about it.” The rules of the game seem to have escaped everyone, this new information far more interesting and distracting.

“Can we see it?” Roy asks but Felicity is shaking her head before he even finishes. She still has just enough presence of mind to know what a bad idea that is.

“What does it look like?” he tries again. And fails again. “Where is it?”

“’S jus’ here.” She points to her belly, just below her sternum, grazing over the mark in the process. Oliver jolts, his eyes wide and disbelieving as he looks at her like he is reassessing everything that he knows about her. Subconsciously, his hand raises so as to graze over the arrow that points towards his heart from that exact spot.

“Do you know the person?” Oliver chokes, looking like he is dreading the answer.

“Mmhmm.” Everything that Oliver is seems to deflate at her affirmation, “But he don’t want me like I wan’ him.”

“What?” Sara asks, “What do you mean?”

“He don’ see me like that. We’re just friends. He cares ‘bout me an’ I love him. Tha’s our Always. He’s Always keep me safe, I Always love him. See?”

Diggle’s face changes, both lighting up and darkening all at once, “And do you keep him safe too, Felicity?” he prompts.

“Mmhmm. I Always keepin’ him safe. I’m his Girl Wednesday.”

His Girl Wednesday.

_His Girl Wednesday._

_Always._

*************************

**_One Hour Earlier_ **

_“How long do you think we’re going to be stuck here?” Roy asks Felicity, phone still in his hand with Thea on the other end of the call._

_“I’m not sure.” She responds, “However long the security is this intense, I guess.”_

_He lifts his phone back to his face, “We don’t know, Thea. I’ll call you every day, okay? I promise. Love you Thea, bye.”_

_Their relationship is so pure. Felicity used to dream of that sort of intimacy and trust. Well, she got the implicit trust part, at least. Just something of an intimacy deficiency. Though those shoulder touches and the way that he holds her gaze… it speaks a lot for the trajectory of her life that a shoulder touch is now what she considers intimate._

_Oliver had immediately taken charge upon them discovering their trapped status, enlisting Diggle for his expertise. He had divided their jobs up, telling Sara to go and take stock of their food supplies, getting Diggle to look at the medical situation, having Felicity set up searches to detect patterns in the movements of the law enforcement and to learn everything possible about what is happening. Roy had been tasked with figuring out their sleeping and clothing options and Oliver had taken it upon himself to ensure their security._

_It took barely any time for Felicity to sort out the searches, finishing at a similar time to Diggle, who inventoried the medical supplies on a weekly basis anyway. Oliver and Roy took a little longer. Roy because he had some running around to do and Oliver because he quadruple checked every single entrance. Sara’s job was the most time consuming._

_Fortunately, there are lots of clothes around due to them needing training clothes and changes for after their patrols and in case there is any damage. Unfortunately, none of those clothes are Felicity’s and only a few are Sara’s due to her still being rather new. Roy had enough, but only for himself because he has not been part of the team for all that long either. This means that Felicity’s only options are to stay in the dress she put on for work or to borrow Diggle’s or Oliver’s. Oliver insists on her taking his. He_ claims _that it is because he is smaller and has more clothing there. Felicity is the only one who believes him._

_His joggers are hard to keep on, they keep slipping past her hips. But his tee… his tee is the softest, most comfortable thing she has ever worn. It is also huge, but in a comforting, oversized, this-could-be-a-dress kind of way, not an annoying one._

_“Okay.” Sara announces her presence, “I’ve taken stock and found everything that we have to eat for now. One of us might be able to sneak out in a few days if we time it right, but we’re going to have to ration for now. It’s mostly just snacks from the bar and Oliver’s protein bars to be honest but it’s better than nothing. In better news,” she turns around to grab something, “We have plenty of alcohol!” in each hand is a full bottle of vodka, “So we’ll have a fun lockdown at least. I also found this old bottle of wine-” Oliver leapt forwards, snatching the bottle from Sara’s hand and practically hugging it to his chest._

_“That’s a gift.”_

_“For who?” Sara says, incredulous at Oliver’s reaction to her finding a bottle of wine._

_Oliver looks up sheepishly, looking reluctant but he talks anyway, “For Felicity.” He holds out the bottle, “I know it’s over a year late but I’ve been holding on to it, waiting for a special occasion or something.”_

_The bottle is_ Lafite Rothschild 1982 _._

_“You remembered?” she asks, unable to stop her hand as it reaches out to caress the insanely expensive drink._

_Oliver looks confused, like the answer should be obvious, “Of course.”_

_“Okay so Felicity has wine. We have vodka. Let’s get this party going!” Sara grins, and instead of handing out shots, she just gives everybody a full bottle of vodka. As Roy grins, reaching for his, Oliver’s hand comes down over his, slapping the younger man’s hand away._

_Roy huffs, indignant but Oliver explains, “None for you. I’m not getting locked in down here with you if you’re drunk and having a mirakuru episode at the same time.” And Roy cannot think of a good argument, so stays silent and just ensures that Oliver can see his displeasure plainly on his face._

_Before taking his own bottle, Oliver walks over to the little kitchenette that lives in the back of the Foundry. Really, it is just a mini fridge with a small cupboard and a microwave but it does have some advantages. Namely the cups and shot glasses that live in the cupboard. He returns with them and does all of the fancy things that rich people do with wine before pouring it into a mug that Felicity bought Oliver and slightly undercutting the classiness._

_It is delicious._

_It is so delicious that she has finished off the bottle – on her own because nobody took her up on her offer to share, which is probably to do with the look on Oliver’s face – within forty minutes. Leaving her more than enough time to consume two shots of vodka from what was once Roy’s bottle before Sara suggests a game of Truth or Dare, seven shots into her own bottle._

*************************

His Girl Wednesday.

_His Girl Wednesday._

“Felicity?”

“Mmm?” she is drowsy, the world is spinning.

“Felicity, what did you just say?” Oliver sounds stunned, it is funny. Felicity giggles. “Felicity, tell me. What did you say?”

“Sai’ ‘m you ‘irl We’sday. Don’ worry Ol’ver. I ‘lways gonna l’ve you. Tha’s ‘lways.” It is barely intelligible, what she is saying, but it is understandable enough that every single person in that room knows exactly what she is saying. Not one of them can comprehend it though.

“’m tired.” Felicity says, and then she slumps forwards into Roy’s arms, out cold.

Oliver dashes forwards, reaching out his arms to scoop her up and away from Roy without a second thought. It is the only thing that breaks him from his reverie. Terrified, he checks her vitals, afraid that something is wrong with her and as he does, his fingers brush over her upper abdomen, the only thing separating their skin being the thin fabric of his tee on her body.

His own skin flutters in response.

Almost inaudibly, he gasps, “Felicity?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it!
> 
> I have some plans for where this would go next, so it's likely that this will be one of the ones that I'll come back to eventually.
> 
> Wash your hands and stay indoors unless there is no other choice, everyone <3
> 
> I'm on twitter [@MagusLibera](https://twitter.com/MagusLibera).


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